Eating Food That Dies

The state of the American Health in the U.S has become an increasing concern of many Americans. An article entitled “11 Facts about American Eating Habits,” addresses the state of food in the U.S by stating, “Healthiness of the food we eat decreases by 1.7 percent for every hour that passes in the day.” Experts and scientists in the U.S has raised questions about regarding the different ways food is now being produced. While individuals are usually not aware of the ingredients that food contains, many people continue to have unhealthy eating habits. In the past few decades, food production has included numerous artificial ingredients that are said to be the cause of various health problems. Various artificial ingredients that are commonly

The high levels of calories, fat and sodium in most fast food Figure 2: In 2009 a cartoon by Vanessa about how contradiction and irony happened when "healthy meals" shows up in fast food restaurant

“Although many health authorities insist that there is no such thing as junk food, consumers find it a useful term for distinguishing nourishing food from products whose chief appeal is fun, convenience, and addictive taste; ‘bet you can't eat just one’ ”(Junk Food). Americans are spending about $4.6 billion a year on potato chips, and 23.5 billion a year on candy and gum. 46 Percent of adult Americans eat out on a typical day, and one third of them choose fast food. That is because the fast food industry has slowly become one of the symbols of American culture and is spreading to other cultures as well: McDonalds has 26,000 locations in 119 countries, Pizza Hut has more than 10,000 in 86 countries, and Subway has 14,500 in 75 countries. Commercials, signs, and huge advertisements are pushing junk food at us every day; people cannot even go to the grocery store without candy bars being lined up right by the checkout. The junk food industry realizes how appealing it can be. When a person is in a rush, they can easily eat a large meal without having to make a lot of decisions, work, dress up, or get out of their car. The speed and convenience fit Americans’ pressured lifestyles. It does not fit, however, to our health and wellness. A fast food meal, such as a Burger King Double Whopper with cheese, contains 965 calories, more than double the amount of fat, and as much as 750 grams too much sodium

I. IntroductionBecause of the omnipotence of fast food chains in America, when we feel the urge for an easy meal, Americans, in general, immediately look to the fast food nation for a quick suppression to their hunger. Because we live in a time-is-money society the most efficient means of hunger satisfaction is the almighty drive-through. Corporations spend billions of dollars advertising to enhance sales of their products. With American catching on to the lack of healthy food options in the fast food nation, fast food chains began campaigning healthier food such as their salads and fruit cups. However salads may sound healthy but a Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken from McDonalds has 320 calories and 90 grams of fat. Where's the "healthy" in that. Now that Obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. we need to re-evaluate the importance of healthy eating. By increasing awareness of the

When you have a dollar in your pocket for lunch, do you chose the tiny side salad consisting of lettuce and a few vegetables, or a warm, juicy double cheeseburger. The burger will hold you off until dinner and is much more convenient for an employee or student on the go while the salad has the tendency to leave you feeling unsatisfied. The answer seems obvious. We are on the go all the time welcome to 2012, with no time to stop and peel an orange or slice an apple. We need pre-packaged fruit salad for a tasty, convenient, healthy snack. What may not be noted is our “healthy” snack is probably packed in high calorie syrup and added sugar. If you’re counting calories you should check the ingredients… who has

Around 160,000 fast food franchises have been opened all over America. America is the most obese country in this world. Healthy food is supplement rich, yet fast food has a tendency to be poor in nutrients and high in calories. Know that fast food can satisfy our day by day calories requirements; not only it gives us calories, but it also harms our health with other ingredients. For instance, fast food is high in soaked fats and trans fats. In addition, it has additives, chemicals, and artificial flavors. Fast food impacts our health and causes infections, for example, heart disease, diabetes, high blood sugar and high blood pressure. On the other hand, healthy food provides the best nutrients and protects our body from sickness, since it contains vitamins, proteins, and minerals. Fast food is addictive and unhealthy. (Obesity in America) (Chronic

With this increase in the productivity of farmers, came a proliferation of food processing industries and fast food restaurants. These food processing industries and restaurants capitalized on the abundant, overly cheap commodity crops to their advantage; to make profit, and to the disadvantage of poor Americans. During processing of these commodity crops, the natural nutrients that give these foods their natural flavors are destroyed. To replace these, food additives and flavorings are added to restore their taste and prolong their shelf life. Often these chemicals contain some harmful elements that affect the way our bodies use food. These highly processed foods, dense in calories,

The inherent problem with fast food restaurants is food quality, enhancing taste by adding increased calories, fasts, sodium and sugar. Wendy’s menu is no exception. “Wendy’s Dave’s Hot N Juicy ¾ Ib Triple Cheeseburger, the calories in it are 1,090, 66 grams of fat and sodium is 1,990” (America’s Best and Worst Food). “Soft drinks can lead to obesity, research found out that for every can or glass of sugar- sweetened beverage a child drank during that time, the child’s body mass index inched up and the chances of becoming obese increased to 60%” (Eric Schlosser pg. 56).

Fast food has without a doubt changed the way people eat in America, and is partly to blame for diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. According to Murray (40) more than 300, 000 every year are related to obesity. Individuals should know what they are consuming and how it is prepared or made; they should spend their hard earned money on restaurants that make healthy food. So why is fast food unhealthy? Fast food may look tasty and appealing, however, they contain a myriad of hidden health hazards that are dangerous if consumed in large quantities and are a primary cause of obesity, particularly in children. The effects of eating fast food on a person’s health are: increase in blood pressure, a delay in the metabolic rate, increase in the levels of bad cholesterol, destabilization of blood sugar levels, and weakening of the immune system. Furthermore, the effects of fast food include obesity, nutritional deficiencies, and cardiac problems among other health hazards. No one is forcing individuals to eat fast food, but the fact is that fast food restaurants will change when consumers demand changes. Even if three percent of Americans complained about fast food, it would make a substantial drop in

While most the food products that are out in the market today can barely be considered food to some people, in my opinion, the majority of the people don’t know what is in the food products they buy but purchase these food products anyhow. I, myself being one of the people that don’t always know what is in the food products I purchase. After listening to the TED Talks and reading articles from Food Matters, my opinion of what can be considered “real food” has drastically changed. Although I already spend most of my time in the peripheries of the market, I do not spend all of my time there so I would like to challenge myself to following one of Michael Pollan’s rules and plan to “shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle” (15).

Along with these definite health risks, fast food restaurants add fillers to their food. The fillers help the fast food industry by lowering the cost and causing the food to look more appetizing. However, these fillers are not healthy for consumers and do not provide them with the nutrition that they believe they are receiving. Preparing my own food will take more time than just simply driving through the

Because of the omnipotence of fast food chains in America, when we feel the urge for an easy meal, Americans, in general, immediately look to the fast food nation for a quick suppression to their hunger. Because we live in a time-is-money society the most efficient means of hunger satisfaction is the almighty drive-through. Corporations spend billions of dollars advertising to enhance sales of their products. With American catching on to the lack of healthy food options in the fast food nation, fast food chains began campaigning healthier food such as their salads and fruit cups. However salads may sound healthy but a Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken from McDonalds has 320 calories and 90 grams of fat. Where's the

nowadays, people do not know what they are eating. The majority of most Americans would not be able to pronounce the names of the ingredients listed on the package of the last snack food they consumed. Consumers “ignore certain critical questions about the quality and the cost of what they are sold: How fresh is it? How clean or pure is it, how free of dangerous chemicals? … When the food has been manufactured or “processed” or “precooked,” how has that affected its quality or price or nutritional value?” (Berry, 24) It is of utmost importance that we understand what the food that lines the grocery store shelves is actually

In the last decade, a lot of emphasis has been put on adopting healthy eating habits and informing the consumers that the healthy-eating option was available in fast-food restaurant chains. Interestingly, consumers eating in fast-food chains were found to be more likely to order fattening side dishes if they think that they are consuming a healthy diet (Men’s Fitness, March 2008). This observation is also true in Subway restaurants where a 12 inch Italian sandwich contains over 900 calories compared to the 600 calories BigMac from MacDonald’s (Wilson Quarterly, Winter 2008). Thinking they are eating “healthy”, Subway patrons then splurge on soft drinks, potato chips and desserts accompanying their sandwich, especially is they are offered as part of value meals.

The recent trend is advertising fresh and organic foods for nutrition and health benefits by using popular and manipulating phrases such as “Fresh is Best”. This has resulted in major retailers declaring their focus on fresh foods, such as Coles’ new “I Coles Freshed It” campaign. These changing habits also indicate that the consumers will now be seeking fresh and organic foods in lieu of available pre-packaged and preserved foods. However, research in the past decade illustrates that some fresh foods may not necessarily provide any more nutrition than preserved ones (University of Illinois Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition, 2001). In modern food preservation techniques, “preservation